The sharp crack of gunfire and distant screams reverberated through the empty halls, sent a chill down my spine. I ignore it and continued to press deeper into the corridor, moving toward the elevator. The horrifying sounds slowly subsided as I walked further down the hall. I casted one last wary glance back at the door I had just passed through hoping I wasn’t followed. Thankfully relieved to be away from the chaos happening outside.
Approaching the elevator doors, I noticed the flickering lights overhead. Finally some good news: “If I can just reach the rooftop, I can make way to the neighboring building and down towards the parking garage to where my cars parked”. The doors creaked open halfway, then froze, followed by a loud thumping noise, before slamming shut. The lights overhead turned off. I began to pry open the doors with my hands, “Aw man, please work, please work,” I pleaded under my breath pushing with all my might, but the doors remained closed and the elevator itself silent. “No, no, no”. I pressed the buttons one last time as if it would change anything.
As I stood there, a had gotten an idea: stairs. “There’s gotta be stairs somewhere or a maintenance shaft,” I shuffled my feet around the corner and sprint down the carpeted hallway, determined to find another way up. Ahead, a dim light marked STAIRS caught my eye and I rushed towards the sign and I pushed through the door.
The cool metal railing grounded me as I made way up the flight of stairs, each step echoing to the beating of my heart. Finally reaching the top floor, I was relieved. I took a break and leaned over the railing from the fatigue of running up multiple levels. Sweat dripped down my face as I patted my forehead with my sleeve. “Ughh, I should’ve probably kept up with the gym.” But who would’ve guessed that the end of the world would be right around the corner. The last time you recall doing any type of exercise like running up the stairs was back in P.E. Thank god you don’t have asthma.
Once I regained my stamina I started to move towards the platform up above. One side, there was metal door labeled “ROOF ACCESS” and directly across from it was the stubborn elevator. I pushed open the heavy metal doors and was immediately met with screaming.

Filled with adrenaline I ran in the direction where I had thought the screams came from. There, from the adjacent rooftop, I spotted a couple in distress. The woman, holding a crowbar, watched in horror as her husband battled against the swam of infected, desperately fighting for his life. The scene unfolded right before me in a chaotic frenzy. The husband, his face smeared with sweat, scratches, and determination brandishes a metal pipe against his relentless attackers and swings with all his might. Fighting off waves and waves of infected, trading blow for blow.

THWAK! I could hear the impact of the pipe against the infected. Each hit made a loud, ringing, sharp metal knock. THWAK! THWAK! Each swing, fueled by desperation, I noticed each of his movements becoming slower and slower. The screams of the infected began to fade as he fell to one knee, ridding himself of the last one that stood in front of him. The husband, now dawned with a huge gaping wound with blood running down his face, glances back at his wife with a smile before collapsing to the ground.

The wife rushes over dropping the crowbar and cradles the husband’s head in her lap. Words were exchanged between them before he stopped moving. Tears mixed with grime ran down her cheeks as she whispered assurance that help would soon arrive. Simultaneously, we both looked toward the fire escape and noticed more infected had arrived trying to break through the fence. Ignoring the imminent danger, she clutches her husband’s hand tightly and pressed her forehead against his as the horde continued its terrifying approach.

I can use this to my advantage I thought, all I needed was to find away to cross over to the next roof, and down into the parking garage. My eyes darted around until they land on a ladder, previously abandoned by the wife, who laid it down in a desperate attempt to escape before infected had attacked I assumed. With nearby piece of debris in hand, I managed to leap across the ledge, landing on the other side.

I rushed to secure the ladder, making sure it’s stable enough for a hasty escape then I begin to cross. Right hand with left foot and left hand with right foot you, moving in rhythm across and on top of the parking garage. As I brushed off the dirt from my hands, I glanced back at the women still seated beside her husband, oblivious to infected scratching their way through the gate with relentless hunger. It felt easier to suppress my empathy, yet I found myself unable to move as my thoughts clashed violently within me. At least if they break through she can be with her husband.
Suddenly, a haunting vision engulfed me: I watched in horror as my mother and sister was dragged away and torn apart by these demons.
No one intervened when we were under attack. After witnessing witness their deaths, no one came to my rescue, so why should I? Panic begin to rise in my chest as a voice screamed out time is running out. I would be just like those who stood by. “Damnit!” “Hey! You!” I shouted, trying to get her attention, but she was still focused on her husband, injured and unable to move.
“Hey! Over here!” I yelled, and finally, she looked at me her eyes wide with fear. As if she was just released from a hypnosis. I quickly glanced back at the infected closing in, their grotesque lumbering towards the fence, tearing through the barrier. The fence starts to bend. “What’s your name?” I asked urgently. “Constance” “I know what you’re going through, and I’m sorry for you loss,” the fence creaked, top hinge breaks away—tick, tick, tick. “But you have a few more seconds before those things come in and finish what your husband was trying to do, and that was keeping you safe” SCREEEEEEEECH!!!!!!, the fence groans under pressure, the middle hinge struggling under the weight. Constance jumped up with fear, torn between staying with him and taking chance at survival. “Don’t let his death be in vain”

She hesitated, glancing at the hoard of infected snarling and snapping through the fence, then back at her husband lifeless body. The metal hinges creaked, on the brink of breaking. The horrid screams sent an uneasy feeling of dread that clutched at her chest, but the urgency in his eyes pressed her to decide as the infected raced up the fire escape.
“Please, he wouldn’t want this,” he pleaded, stretching his arm out further to her, desperation painted on his face. With a deep breath she started making her way across ladder. Suddenly, the middle hinge of the fence gave way unleashing the infected onto the rooftop like rushing water. They screamed and clawed their way towards the ladder. Constance was less than a few feet before he lunged forward, grabbing her and pulling her onto the ledge, kicking the makeshift gangway in the process. The fiends tumbled into the dark depths as their shrieks fading into silence. They laid there for a moment catching their breath still hearing the snarls from the building across.
As she rose to her knees, Constance watched in horror as the infected tore into to her husband remains like children ripping open a birthday gift. All she could do was watch, immobilize by grief. “You pieces of shits! Leave him alone!” She screamed, her voice cracking as she desperately tried to draw the others attention, but they were too consumed, too ravenous to care. “You pieces of……….shits……..you….” Her words faltered, more tears and snot streaming down her face, distorting any mascara she had left.
“I’m truly sorry for your loss Constance, but we need to keep moving,” he said gently, his voice cutting through her sorrow. “You pieces of……..shits……… you pieces…..” she was lost in her anguish, her words trailing off into sobs. “Constance, please” he put his hand on her shoulder trying to reassure her, “we have to move before they regroup” With a fierce shake, Constance brushed his hand aside and stepped back, leading her towards a closed metal door written SERVICE ENTRANCE.
“If we head down this way, I have a car waiting,” Without uttering a word, she stood up and walked towards the door. Her expression blank. The weight of loss hung heavily in the air, but the means of survival demanded they pushed forward.
As she descended down the steps, he looked back one last time at the horde feasting on the husband remains before closing the door firmly behind them.

Hoss awakens with a nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach, unable to shake the dizziness from his senses. He glances around the unfamiliar whiteout room and notices in the middle of the room laid a table and two chairs, one of the chairs being taken by someone. "Where am I? " he muttered as he stood up, struggling to recall how he ended up in this strange place. He felt the back of his head where there was a slight painful sensation as if he was struck from behind. The stranger, still sitting, caught Hoss’s attention as they gesture towards the empty chair across from them, “please”. Hoss slowly hobbled over toward the chair trying not to fall over and plopped down. The stranger slid over a glass of water and a plate with two white tablets. Hoss had looked at what was being offered. “It’s for the pain you silly donut,” scoffed the stranger as they rolled their eyes. Hoss stared at the stranger. Although the mask had concealed the strangers face Hoss could tell by the voice alone that the stranger was a female. Mid to late thirties’, athletic built, dirty blonde hair, around 5 foot 8 inches. Was this the karma killer? “Trust me Detective, if I wanted to kill you dont’cha think I would’ve done it already,” she pulled out a knife from behind her and twirled it around her fingers before piercing the table with it. “Besides, I got some questions for you before I decided what i wanna do with you”. In all things considered, what she said was probably true. Who knows how long she was sitting there for.
“Thanks,” Hoss took the pills and washed it down with the water without breaking eye contact.
The stranger had beeped her watch,“Detective Hoss King, were you given the responsibility for the investigation of the Redridge case. “The Redridge case?” The Redridge’s was a family of four that was found dead in their home. Arthur Redridge was a retired police detective who worked under the Child Trafficking department. The corners had marked them up as a robbery gone wrong, but nothing was taken from the scene. “Yes, me and my partner Holden were. We didn’t find much of a lead so the case went cold” Hoss replied, unsure about how much to reveal, but feeling like he had little choice at this point. The stranger's eyes narrowed as she leaned back in her chair, “care to explain?” Hoss hesitated for a moment before deciding to play it straight, “I can’t explain much because there was nothing to be found,” Hoss said. He could tell that the answer he had given wasn’t what the stranger wanted to hear. “Was there any word of transportation or anything that you or your partner Holden left out?” Transportation? Hoss mentally reviewed the details of the case that only lasted a couple weeks trying to recall any overlooked information, “Nothing”. The stranger had snickered. Suddenly, in a blink, the stranger flipped the table aside and before Hoss knew it, he was on the floor. The stranger, now standing over him, was pressing her blade against his throat. Hoss couldn’t move. It felt as if he was paralyzed. As if he was lucid dreaming, but he wasn’t. What was happening to him. “Maybe this might jog your memory,” the stranger pulled out a what looked like a burner phone with dry blood on it from her coat pocket and played a voicemail, “Got a couple more ready and waiting to be moved, be heading to the farm”. Hoss recognized the voice was his partner Holden. He struggled to process everything that was happening.
The stranger screamed at holded but in a more terrifying grunt pressing the blade further into his neck drawing blood, “talk!” Hoss cries in agony, “please I’m telling you everything I know. I didn’t know Holden was in on it. All I know after the third week, the chief had assigned us to a different assignment.
“Not good enough Hoss!” Futher the stranger pressed the blade against his neck. All the stranger had to do was slide it across and Hoss would be consumed by darkness. A memory had appeared in his thoughts at the last second, “Holden said he was gonna do part time at the docks as a delivery driver”. The stranger had retracted her knife and pitched Hoss’s cheek, “see it wasnt that bad now was it? But now i cannot let you live…” “Wait,” Hoss interrupted. The nauseous feeling started to come back to him as he slowly started to feel sleepy. “Let me help you” There was a rhythmic beeping coming from the stranger watch which in return Hoss started to slowly doze off. “If your still alive by the time you wake again and I haven’t killed you.”

Keanu had a hard time falling back asleep from the suspense feeling of what tomorrow will bring. He gazed up at the ceiling fan in he studio apartment going round and round as if somehow the motion would make time and everything around him stop. Am I ready? Keanu had thought. Over and over again that question had replay in his mind like a broken record playing the same melody again and again. Am I ready. But his only answer he had came up with was bringing his family back home. His mom and sister had moved to Oregon in hopes to find a better paying job, but the moment they had moved, it felt like things got worse for them. To Keanu, he believed by being a police officer would give him a better chance to maybe one day save up for a place and have his mom and sister come back. But that day felt ways away and the dangers of being in this profession were great. Keanu had rolled out from under the covers and sat up by the edge of the bed. “Murr….” “Morning snickers,” Keanu said as he rubbed his eyes. Snickers was a grey calico cat that his landlord had offered to him as a gift for passing the police academy. The name Snickers came to him a week later after adopting her, because well, she was thicker than Snickers. She was a fat cat.
“Murr….” “Alright, alright, just give me a minute”. Every morning Keanu would make sure Snickers got fed. Once when he woke up and once more before he left his apartment. He did sometimes wonder if he was feeding her a little to much. Keanu check his phone to see what time it was, it was 6:45am. If I was to leave at seven I would make it to Hilo by nine just in time for me to pick up my uniform and give these forms back. After taking a shower and brushing his teeth he through on some clothes heading for the front door. “I wonder if she would be cool watching you for a bit,” Keanu had looked at Snickers as if he was waiting for her to say of course, why not.
Keanu stepped outside of his apartment and knocked on the door that was adjacent to his. The door open and the aroma of marijuana and incense had filled Keanu nostrils. “Hey Mama Lyn!” Keanu said with a wave and a smile. Lyn Ann was the landlord of Laulima Apartments, but to everyone, she was known as Mama Lyn. She was the modern mother Theresa or at least that’s what Keanu had thought. Always having Friday night potluck for her tenants so no one goes hungry or after school programs so the working parents don’t have to worry.
“Todays the big day,” Mama Lyn had said with excitement. “No, that’s tomorrow, but I gotta go pick up my uniform and equipment in Hilo. Do you mind if Snickers can hang out with you?” Snickers had came up from behind and brushed up against Keanu’s leg and squeaked as she rolled over revealing her stomach, a mixture of fat and fur. “Of course,” Mama Lyn had reached down and picked Snickers up in her arms “come here baby, baby, baby”. Keanu had stared as Snickers sank into Mama Lyns arms like a full size women fitting into a tight corset. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m kinda jealous,” Keanu said playfully. Without breaking eye contact from Snickers Mama Lyn pressed her face into Snickers and kissed her forehead, “your time will come, just keep loving her. Snickers looked back and Keanu and squeaked once more as if telling Keanu to listen to Mama Lyn. “Thank you, I’ll be back as soon as possible,” Keanu had held Mama Lyn’s door open for her as she retreated back into her apartment.

Holden was breathing heavy as he slid to a stop and crouched down behind a weathered wooden counter.
He grabbed his shirt as if he was trying to calm his heart from beating out of his chest. “Come on,” Holden whispered to himself. He inhales, slightly leaning back Holden sticks out his chest and slowly exhales. “Breath” After a minute, Holden was able to lower his heart rate from the breathing exercises and studied his surroundings. From the food court, the only way out was through the sporting goods store and out the maintenance room. Holden took out his handgun and release the the clip. “Three more shots,” he loaded the clip back and pulled the slide back half way, “and one in the chamber”. Suddenly, on the opposite side of the food court, Pizza Palace kitchens double doors flung open and poured in six fully armed and equipped soldiers- weapons drawn and ready. When Holden had peaked, another person had come from behind one of the soldiers and weaved through to the front of the soldiers. “Holden!,” the man called out which echoed throughout the abandoned food court.
“Stop playing games, Holden!” Holden started to scan the room and look at the stacks of chairs and tables in the middle of the room.
I could use this counter to my advantage Holden thought. But nevertheless, the only way out was through him. He thought, if he could time it right, he could sneak pass the group of men take out who seemed like the leader . He crabbed walked down till the counter had ended and waited. The group of men moved tactically down the broad walkway except for the man who knew his name.
Holden took out his handgun and raised the iron sight to his eye level and moved towards the man.
With his gun still aiming at the man he glanced back at the group heading towards the bathroom, way out of sight.
“Now’s my chance,” Holden sprang from behind the counter and made a b-line towards the man. The man looked up as if he was expecting Holden, as Holden unloaded three shots which rang loudly, and sank into a slump. The man laughed hysterically and pulled out a deadman’s switch, “you’re time is up. Better run”

“We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, “Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” I suppose we all thought that one way or another”

                      - J. Robert Oppenheimer

The room was heavy with silence as Cameron was getting his belongings together. Nothing but the sound of clothes hitting the bag. One after another. A moment that seemed all to familiar to him: his brother throwing his clothes in the bag and saying goodbye. When they had picked their mom, Nainoa had volunteered as tribute, same as the Mocking Jay. Shortly after the rebellion had started Nainoa had disappeared. The announcers had told the mom that the gas had consumed him. It affected the mother to the point she felt numb. Six months went by and she passed away. The doctor said it was to much stress. Cameron knows she died of a broken heart. The council had made the Mockingjay a wanted criminal, and anyone that was caught aiding her, would be punished by death.
So much questions had swam around his mind, but nevertheless surviving was his focus. ‘If he is alive maybe this might be my chance to find him’, he thought. Before Cameron had zipped up his bag he grabbed a kite his brother had made for him off the nightstand. “If I can make it to the waterfalls where he was last seen, maybe I can let him know I’m there”.

“Even if it kills me, I need to know.”

Putting the kite in his bag and zipped in close.

I slam the double doors behind me and barricade it with a chair that was nearby. Within seconds, the doors started to rattle violently from the constant banging followed by moans.
You focus towards controlling your heart rate. Consisting of five second intervals of holding your breath after breathing in and breathing out. The banging gets louder and louder as the moans turn into demonic screams.
“I need to get out of here,” you say in a panic. You scan the room looking for a door or even a ladder, something. “A window!” You make a “B- line” towards the opening pushing chairs and tables out of the way. The city was in chaos; people screaming, gunshots and snarling of monsters in the distance, structural fires, and sirens. It was truly the end of times and whatever those things are, they are it.
You look up and see a fire escape- a way out! Beginning your decent, the metal structure rings with each step you take.
Clang. Clang. Clang. What should be a shorter way down felt like it was taking forever to get down to the alley. Suddenly, the bolts give way and rest of the fire escape starts to collapse- sending you flying. When you land, you land hard.
Uugghhh!!! Screaming in agony you feel a sharp bloody object protruding from you thigh. It was your bone.
“No.” “No.” “No.” You lay in the alley way holding your leg and immediately see more of those monsters.
“Skreech!!!” The monster starts to scratch at the fence If it wasn’t for that chain link fence, you would be somebody’s dinner. Noticing a storage room a couple feet from you are, You start moving backwards. With every plop, a jolt of pain races up your body, but you keep moving. Taking a quick look back at the fence, you slowly seeing losing its form, caving more and more towards you.
“Come on!” You yell. The moment the monster starts pouring over the fence they start running directly at you. You pull out your gun and start dropping of them, landing with a squishing sound. The moment you felt the doorframe, you rolled in and kick the door shut.
Once again the door shook violently with loud screeching following right behind. You eject the clip to check how many shot you have left. Two.

You better watch out.
You better not cry.
You better not pout, I’m telling why.
Santa Claws is coming to town.

He sees you when your sleeping….. He knows when your awake….. He knows if you been bad or good….. So be good for goodness sake

You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m telling you why. Santa Claws is coming….. Coming to town…..

Listen to the tale!

Boisterous baby brother ben broke baby-proofing boards.

Lucky lama labeled Lucy lured lobby lover lamb late last night

Finally, flimsy ferret Fred fell feet first